By Reggie Addae
Set your website for success with a bonus ‘how-to guide’
When it comes to optimization, one of the most important practices that all marketers need to undertake is gathering actionable insights. Feedback is crucial because it allows you to identify sources of friction that stop customers from taking an action. It can be categorized into two types:
- Customer surveys: They are used to solicit feedback from users who have already converted or taken the action you want them to take. The issue with these surveys is that since the information is collected after the event, the customer may not necessarily remember how they felt at the time.
- Web surveys: They collect feedback from users while they are using your site. They are usually pop-up boxes that appear after a trigger (e.g., after a certain amount of time has been spent on a particular page, scroll depth, number of pages viewed, landing on specific pages, etc.). Web surveys can be used to understand why people are not taking a particular action.
So how can you implement a web survey to identify your friction points and boost your conversion rates?
Step 1: Who
Make sure the people you are surveying would actually take the action you want them to take. Look at your metrics and note the common traits of people who took the given action, and try to target similar individuals–maybe they visited a specific number of pages, or stayed on your site for a set amount of time.
For instance, you could target individuals who added items to their cart, but didn’t buy. These individuals showed intent by adding a product to their cart. With an average abandon-cart rate of 69.89% (Baymard Institute), finding out why and fixing it would do wonders for your conversion rates.
Step 2: Where
Now you know who, you have to ask them at the right time. Don’t ask a user why they haven’t taken an action when they have just landed on your site.
A better time might be the last stage of your conversion funnel, or when they are about to leave your site (exit intent). A browser determines exit intent by tracking the movements of your mouse and is triggered when you move your mouse cursor outside of the upper page boundary.
Step 3: What
You’ve established the who and where, so what do you ask?
There is no best question to ask, as it differs depending on your objective. As a rule of thumb, try and understand two things about the potential customer:
- Why did they come to your site? Does your website match their needs? If not, are you attracting the wrong audience?
- What are the friction points that are preventing them from taking the action you want them to take?
Here are some sample questions to ask:
- Why are you here today? (Identify intent)
- Were you able to find the information you were looking for? (Identify whether there is any missing information on the site)
- What made you not complete [action] today? (Identify sources of friction)
You will have to experiment with these questions to see what works. The one question a lot of marketers use that works regardless of the audience is: Do you have any questions you haven’t been able to find answers to? (Y/N)
After they have answered ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ ask for an explanation. This structure works because it’s easy to answer a yes or no question. Once you have responded to it, a psychological trigger called ‘commitment’ compels you to complete what you started, and answer the question.
Another good question, especially for ecommerce stores, is: Is there anything holding you back from making a purchase today? It’s important to find the wording that works for you.
Step 4: How
There are multiple ways to implement a survey. HotJar [hotjar.com] has a free version you can use, and it’s quick and easy to set up. Of course, there are plenty of other tools like Qualaroo [qualaroo.com] and Webengage [webengage.com] that also get the job done.
How to set up a survey on Hotjar
1. Go to ‘Polls’ under the ‘Feedback’ heading on the side dashboard.
2. Click ‘+ New Poll.’
3. Enter the name of your poll.
4. Your ‘Question 1’ is the one with a yes or no answer. Click on the dialog box next to the ‘Yes’ so the user can enter the text if they select ‘Yes.’
5. The second question asks them if they would like a response to their question or comment. ‘Yes’ prompts the user to leave their email address. ‘No’ will close the dialog box.
6. Configure how you want the pop-up to look.
7. Set up the targeting (i.e., desktop, tablets, or phones), the specific pages you want this to appear, and to which users.
8. Dictate the behavior of the poll. When do you want it to show up, and how often will visitors see it?
9. Once done, set to ‘Active’ and launch. There you have it: your very own feedback loop.
Reggie is Jumpstart’s Director of Marketing and Special Programs.
